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Jerusalem seen from the Mount of Olives. (Flickr Commons/Dan)

Trump administration to move US embassy to Jerusalem in May, Israel’s 70th birthday

February 23, 2018

WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Trump administration will formally move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May, to coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary.

“We’re planning to open the new U.S. Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May,” a U.S. State Department spokesman told JTA in an email. “The embassy opening will coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary.”

The spokesman did not reveal a specific date, but May 14 would mark 70 years since Israel’s establishment.

The spokesman said the embassy would be located in a neighbourhood in southern Jerusalem that is on the side that Israel held before 1967 but runs along the seam of what was then the border.

“The Embassy will initially be located in Arnona, on a compound that currently houses the consular operations of Consulate General Jerusalem,” he said.

Building a new embassy will take at least three years, and the spokesman suggested that at least for now, much of the daily operation of the embassy will remain in Tel Aviv.

“At least initially, it will consist of the Ambassador and a small team,” the spokesman said of the Jerusalem operation.

Previously, Trump administration officials had said the embassy move would take place in 2019. U.S. President Donald Trump has heralded his December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as one of the highlights of his administration so far. He earned lengthy applause on Friday from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington when he mentioned the Jerusalem recognition.

Another source apprised of the move provided JTA with a timeline for the move: In phase one, starting in May, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman and some staff will begin working out of the consular section at a cost of about $300,000 to $500,000. In phase two, by the end of 2019, an annex on site will be constructed for a more permanent working space for the ambassador, staff, and a classified processing site. That will cost $10-15 million US, and the security arrangement will cost at least $45 million US. Phase three, the site selection and construction of a new embassy, will take up to nine years.